Craft II (The Craft Saga)

12 - The Setup

'Alright, next one...would you rather eat Karl's sweaty ass orrrr...drink a litre of cat piss?'

I burst into laughter and almost choked on my cheeseburger. 'Cat piss everyday of the week!' I cried, still giggling. 'You couldn't pay me a billion dollars to go within an inch of that man's asshole; he's fucking gross!'

Ollie chuckled as he turned a corner and pulled up at the next drop. 'You finished that?' He signalled to my meal on my lap, bought by him.

'Yeah,' I replied, brushing the crumbs from my palms and throwing the wrappers into the Burger King bag. 'Why? Did you want some?' I felt guilty right away. One thing Ollie never did was buy food for himself when he got me some.

'No,' he laughed. 'I'm asking because...I think it's time...'

'Time?' I questioned. 'Time for what?'

'Time for you to get your ass out of the car and accompany me to the drop,' he replied.

I gasped softly and felt my stomach turn. 'Did Roman tell you to do that?'

He shook his head and smiled. 'Absolutely not. What Roman doesn't know won't hurt us.'

'I don't know...' I felt unsure. I wanted to go inside with him just to do something a little more interesting than wait in the car but I also didn't want to jeopardise our days out; the only bit of joy in my life.

'Cece, trust me, he won't find out,' Ollie told me, resting a reassuring hand on top of mine.

For some reason, I felt compelled to look down at where he was squeezing my hand softly. My cheeks flushed and I felt a warmth inside my stomach. Whether this was something Ollie noticed or not, I was unsure, but he certainly pulled his hand away again quickly.

'I won't make you come with me,' he said, clearing his throat and turning to look out of his window at the run-down house with boards on the windows and trash all over the yard.

'No, I know,' I murmured, shaking away the flustered feeling. 'Okay, I'll come in with you.'

Ollie turned to me and smiled. 'Great! Grab your gun.'

'Please tell me I'm not going to have to use this,' I muttered, as I grabbed it from under the seat and got out of the car.

'You shouldn't need to,' Ollie said, as I joined him on the sidewalk. 'I'm suggesting you come inside this one with me because this guy is really cool with me and it's usually a pretty neat transaction. However, it never hurts to be vigilant.'

I nodded as I crossed the messy yard with him. It was a strange feeling heading into a drop with a gun in my hand. It felt like I was back to being part of the Cabreras, just doing my job. I knew it wasn't the same but it was nice to pretend.

Ollie knocked then let himself into the house and I wrinkled my nose at the smell of burning.

'George!' Ollie called, as we walked down a hallway and entered the kitchen. 'It's Lagdon!'

'Lagdon!' A plump, hairy guy in a white vest and shorts with long black hair and a huge beard entered the kitchen. 'Good to see you again!'

The two men hugged briefly and George turned to look at me. 'Got a little acquaintance to keep an eye on ya'?'

Ollie clicked his tongue and shoved him gently. 'Nah, man, this is Cece. She's just helping me out today.'

'I see...' George's eyes explored my body top to bottom. 'Pretty girl you are.'

Ollie grabbed George's chin and turned his head slowly back to face him. 'Don't make me end this friendship of ours dude; I will slap the shit out of you.'